Rio: A Hidden Threat
by OperationFirstStrike
Summary: When Blu and his family travel off to Hong Kong for a normal family vacation, everyone is happy, especially Tyler Blu Gunderson. But things are soon going to happen. Things that involve nuclear missiles.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Blu POV

I stepped out of my hollow and stared at the silent Amazon night sky, waiting for the incoming Brazilian helicopter. It was coming closer now, I could hear the rotating of its propellers. But I still couldn't see its shape yet. I looked around the macaw village. Although it was already midnight, most of the hollows were still bright with the newly-fitted electric lamps. Just as I was about to fly back into my hollow, a slurred voice called out my name

"Blllluuu…".

It was Roberto. After the incident with the loggers, he two had actually grown close…. and finally, became friends, with him passing on the role of soccer captain to me, and me…. well.. you won't want to know. I laughed as I flew into his hollow. He was watching a late night soccer match on TV, and was drinking…well, you should know.

"Beeeeerrr…" he said again.

"Yeah ...Yeah.." I said, as I grabbed a can and threw it to him "You're really getting addicted".

"Maaannn.." he slurred on " Those humans really got it going". I laughed again. "Blu?" a voice behind me interrupted. I glanced behind my back. It was Jewel.

"Beto…you" she continued.

"Uhh.." Roberto said as he held up one of his wings "Just this last can…" "

"You always say that!" .

I chuckled at this argument, thinking of how I used to be just like that with Linda. LINDA! I rushed out of my hollow. I could see the helicopter landing now, onto the "H" we so elaborately made on the meadow. 'Must be Fernando" I thought. The whirring of the propellers stopped, and the woman who took care of me for 15 years stepped out. Instinctively, I flew down and embraced her She hugged me back. There was no need for words. This was enough.

"Ready to go, Blu?" she asked me as she tickled my chin.

I closed my eyes, feeling young once again for a moment. Then I opened them and yelled out "Kids…Come out now!" "Awww" the kids moaned, just as expected, then half a second later, they came flying out (forced by Jewel), carrying their things-Bia a book, Carla an I-Pod, and Tiago a football. "Get in, guys" I said as I slid opened the helicopter doors. At the pilot's seat. sat Fernando, just as I thought. "Hey Blu" he said, high-fiving my talon as he greeted me. "I passed my flying exam." I grinned and wrote "Then say thanks to me." It seemed strange teaching a human how to fly a helicopter but hey—flying is flying.

We both laughed our heads off.

"Hey Stu!" someone yelled out.

It was Eduardo. Ever since the day we met, (which was not very nice) "Stu" had become my PERMANENT nickname. My father-in-law flew down to me and whispered

" May I have a word with Tulio please?"

Ever since the day they met (which also was not very nice), they both had realized the importance of preserving the Spix's Macaw Tribe and had worked together since, despite the language barrier. Just then, Tulio came over and they hurriedly walked over to a corner, talking quietly but urgently. I decided to walk over and listen, but something in my body instinctively told me not to. Fernando yelled "Time for take-off!". I hurried inside, together with Tulio who had just wrapped up the chat with Eddie.

"Eddie's not going." He told me suddenly.

"Strange" I thought "How come he suddenly said that. I already knew…"

But I barely had any time to think more, the rotor blades began to spin again, disrupting the usual silence in the village. Just as the helicopter left the ground, someone yelled out "Hey guys! Wait up!" Blu sighed, and turned his head around, expecting Luiz with his spit drooling. But it wasn't Luiz…it was Aunt Mimi.

"Guys wait up!" she yelled.

Somehow, Fernando seemed to understand her and landed the helicopter again.

"What now, Aunt Mimi?" asked Blu angrily, who wanted to be back at Rio ASAP.

"I want to go with you guys." The elderly macaw replied.

"WHAT!?" bellowed Eduardo, running towards the chopper. "Sis," He continued 'You can't go"

"Come on, Ed!" she yelled. "I haven't been out of this hellhole for like, 40 years!"

"I never knew Aunt Mimi was that old…"Tiago whispered to Bia.

Eduardo groaned. He loved his sister, but he knew that sometimes…sometimes.. that she was just so.. stubborn. He folded his wings and said

"Okay, Mimi, just this time. But keep in contact, ok?" He held up his PHONE.

Jewel swore out loud. Blu looked at him in shock. Aunt Mimi hassled herself onto the chopper and whispered to Blu

'I used to push him around when we were young, you know."

Blu had to resist the temptation to laugh. Fernando wiped his forehead with his handkerchief and closed the cockpit door for one last time. Then the rotors spun and lifted its cargo of 3 humans and 6 macaws into the black Amazon sky, flying the 1000 miles back to Rio.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Jewel POV

"Ding Dong!" the doorbell rang as Blu pressed the button with his talon. "Blu," I until Linda opened the door for us. Linda and Tulio went home half an hour earlier with the kids. And we, well.. Blu insisted on doing some 'shopping". Blu dropped his heavy bags full of human stuff made of a thing called "plastic" and flew up onto the table where Linda was sitting. He took out a piece of paper from his old fanny pack and began to write. Where and How he learnt it, I'll never know. I stood on tip-toe to see what he was writing.

Blu: (In Writing) Linda, have u booked my tickets yet?

Linda nodded.

I looked at my husband and his caretaker, completely mystified. What were "tickets"?

Then suddenly, it hit me. On more than one occasion, Blu had mentioned to me that,

one day, one day, we will be going to a HUMAN CITY on a "vacation".

Blu: (Writing): Where are we going to?

I glared at him.

Linda: (Looking at the note) Well Blu, I'm sorry, but I couldn't…

I smirked at my husband. If looks could kill.

Linda seemed to interpret my looks and said

Linda: Wait, Jewel, I know you're not going to like this, but…

I didn't bother to conceal my anger anymore.

Jewel: (Hollering at Blu) Oh yeah! We're going to that ****ing Minnesota again,

right?

Blu: (Holding up his wings) Hold it, Jewel, we've never been…

Jewel: Yeah.. I know it ! Not Minnesota, right? Some other American place, then.

New York, Chicago, blah blah….

Suddenly, the kids ran out of the kitchen, dropped everything they were doing (playing Minecraft, whatever that stupid game is called), and hugged me. Although

They were already 10 and Carla was 11, they were still, well, I wouldn't say babyish,

but quite "emotional" towards me.

Tiago: Oh, come on, Mum!

I wondered if this was Blu's plan all along. But Tiago's voice made me calm down and think carefully.

Jewel: Alright, Blu… where are we going.

I could see Blu was acting evasively , so I said.

Jewel: Oh come on, Blu, I'm not gonna bite am I?

Blu: You said you would back in 2011.

Jewel: (Laughing): Come on, Blu, I was just joking!

Blu: (writing) Alright, Linda, where are we going, actually.

I thought ;You have no idea?"

Linda: Okay… since I couldn't book any trips to America this summer…

Blu's face dropped. I smiled.

Linda: So I decided to book a place somewhere more far away…..

I laughed and whispered to my husband

Jewel: The Amazon?

Blu poked me in the guts.

Linda: Guys… if you don't want to listen, then fine.

I don't mind of course, but Blu, that human bird who is my husband went forward

and fell to his knees.

Linda: I was just joking! Okay, you two birds have been wasting so much time

arguing. Before you piss each other off again, where is the answer: We're going to

Hong Kong.

The kids yelled "Surprise, Dad!" Blu was shocked for a moment, before he cheered along with the kids and began to dance his stupid "victory dance". Even Linda was

smiling, though I think she was just glad to be over with it without getting hurt. I was just plain… shocked. Not like Blu, but, just amazed the words Linda had just said.

Hong Kong. I had once flipped through a book Blu was reading about countries and one page showed Hong Kong. To be honest, it didn't seem like a bad place to be. But

I was still too shocked to say anything. Blu understood my looks and came over. 'Jewel, we'll only be there for a week.' I sniffed, unable to speak anything. "Coem on,

Mum, it's going to be fun!" yelled the kids. "Yeah, Jewel, show them what I had. My childhood." I whispered 'After this, will you…" "Jewel, you know me, after this trip, I

promise, I'll de-domesticate myself.". I smiled, then nodded. I didn't know exactly why I did it, but the trip doesn't seem so bad now. 'YES!" Blu yelled before high-fiving the

kids. "GOT HER!" The kids cheered. My guess is that they had been planning this over the years now. I laughed along with them and stared out of the window. Maybe a trip

to Hong Kong isn't as bad as all.


	3. Chapter 3: A chat with Linda

Chapter 3

Jewel POV

I yawned and stretched my wings as I walked out to what Blu called the living room. It must be all that coffee Blu forced me to drink. Despite it was already 2 am, Linda was

still out there reading a magazine that must be about Hong Kong. I was right. I hopped over to her and looked at the cover. I admit, Hong Kong was a beautiful place

compared to Rio. Skyscrapers lined the horizon and people were bustling on the streets. So different from our home in the Amazon.

Linda noticed me and put down her magazine. "Excited about going, Jewel?" I sighed as I walked over to my laptop (well, it wasn't exactly mine...but you get the point),

opened Word and began to type. Typing was some sort of a mystery to me. I already knew how to type before Blu volunteered to teach me. Now I was even better than

him(He's jealous), but how it came, it was a mystery. "Linda," I began to type "What happened in the 15 years you took care of Blu?" She replied drowsily 'I don't know

Jewel, I'm sorry he's being such a big pain to…" "No Linda," I replied "He's not a pain, he's just…" "I never intended to let him become domesticated. Imagine my

surprise when I first saw him drink coffee. But he was so close that he was almost like a little human." I flinched at the term "little human".. "So, Jewel" she asked, smiling "

How's Blu in the jungle?" "He claimed that he would de-domesticate himself, but to this day, he still hasn't. Did I tell you about his I-Phone?" Linda nodded. She must

understand after all those years. "The whole tribe's become domesticated. Daddy… that's Eduardo to you, began using an I-Pad for directions. And as for Beto…HE'S

DRINKING BEER!" Linda smiled a bit, and nodded. Stroking me for a bit, she said "I'm so sorry, Jewel. I and him will be having a talk soon. Okay?" I nodded happily.

"Thanks, Linda" I typed.

Just as I was about to go back to my bed…oops, I said nothing. somebody came out wearing purple nightclothes with white dots. It

was Blu! And he was carrying a teddy bear! "What the he.." he yelled as

he saw us. I looked at Linda and we both laughed our heads off. Blu screamed and locked himself in the toilet.

For the whole night.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 The Flight

Jewel POV

I looked around in wonder as Linda bought us into the airport. I had no idea how humans could build things such as this. Huge metal machines that could fly, for example. How the hell could it just get off the ground? "So kids," Blu said as he landed on a thing the humans called a sofa. "Take your passports.' The kids obediently went forward as they each got a small brown booklet from my husband. I looked curiously at them. What the hell were they? "One's for you, Jewel" Blu looked at me. I picked up the last one. On its cover, were the words "Republic of Brazil" (Okay, I know it's not like that, but just let it be, alright?). I flicked inside. There was my photo and my full name-Jewel Gunderson. I sighed. I wonder how Blu had managed to get these things for us but I just kept my beak shut. I looked into the handbag that I had brought. Inside were mobile phones, booklets, gadgets that Blu had given me over the past 3 years that I had barely even used before. Curiously, I took out my mobile. It was blue, just like our feathers. I was about to turn it on when my husband patted me on the shoulder. "Time to go," he gestured towards a cage. I stood back in shock. A CAGE! I twirled back my head and looked at Linda. She shrugged. I turned back to my husband and began to say angrily "You never mentioned a cage." "Jewel, I..." he spluttered "I thought" "Tyler Blu Gunderson!" I began raging "You know what I think about CAGES!" My husband began to relax. He crossed his wings and smirked "What? You like them?" I was just about to hit him when Linda walked over "Guys' she said hastily "We're leaving in 18 minutes! Jewel, get in that cage." I crossed my wings and glanced at her. She understood and groaned. "Why can't you be more domesticated?" she must be thinking. She looked at me and whispered "I'll go talk to them". "You better" I squawked back. She ruffled my head (I hated that) and went over to the counter.

18 minutes later Blu POV

"Passengers, welcome aboard Flight CX5609, taking off from Rio de Janeiro to Hong Kong…" I looked out of the plane window as I luxuriated on my plane seat, which was huge by comparison. I looked at my kids- they were having the hell of a time. Bia was flicking the pages of an on-board magazine, Carla was switching on the TV, while Tiago was messing with just generally everything. I smiled. Then, I turned to the beautiful bird I met 6 years ago in Rio. To my surprise and amazement, she was looking at her I-Phone. God, I thought I had wasted all that money. I smooched over to her seat and whispered quietly 'What's up, Jewel?" She blushed and replied "Nothing, just messing with my I-Phone." "Thought you hated it" "Not quite," the beautiful Jewel whispered back, "Its… interesting." I laughed. "Want me to teach you?" "Sure, Dr. Gunderson.' She giggled. "Now, "I began "You touch this button for Whatsapp, which is basically a text tool…"

The plane taxied down the runway and took off gracefully. It soared high above the clouds, heading towards the dim orange sun. Heading east, to where the city of Hong Kong lay.

But unknown to them, someone was watching. Someone who wanted revenge. Someone with no good intentions.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The white bird looked out of his window overlooking Victoria Harbor. He glanced briefly at the thousands of ships crossing the short strip of water every minute. H smiled to himself. Soon there won't be any more ships in Victoria Harbor. There won't even be any of Hong Kong left.

'Sir" somebody called out.

It was a young macaw. There were also dozens of other macaws standing behind him, waiting for duty. On every one of their bodies, wore the uniform of the Hong Kong Police. Some were blue while some were white. But you could tell from their faces that there were not necessarily police. Some had huge scars running down their necks while others wore gold chains and sun-glasses which were only worn by the Triads of Hong Kong.

"Sir," the young "police" macaw said again, this time a bit louder "The reports." The bird glanced at him briefly before snatching over the stack of papers the macaw held in his talons. He ran his eyes over them. Or should I say, eye. One of them had been scalped out in a battle some time ago.

The bird smiled to himself. This was the moment he had been waiting for 9 years. Almost a decade. And now, he had been give the honor to finish it.

'Howard, Leung, Stevens," he barked out.

He didn't even bother to turn his back. 3 middle-aged macaws stepped forward. 2 of them looked American while one was local.

"You three shall be in charge of tracking the targets. Don't lose them, under any circumstances." The trio saluted as they flew out.

"Cheung? Greyson?' he continued to call out "You two shall be in charge of interrogating the targets once they have been caught.'

He still had one command "Kieran? Isaacs? Ray?"

A toucan along with a small cardinal and a canary stepped out in fear. They looked South American. These were the birds the Leader trusted the most.

"You," he began. The ghost of a smirk came to his beak "Shall be in charge of hypnotizing the prisoners."

'For what, sir?' the toucan asked timidly.

"We shall see…" the Leader answered 'We shall see…"

Outside, a plane all the way from South America was just descending.

The Leader looked at the photo of the bird that had evaded him for 10 years. He ran his talon down his throat. It felt nice. He was going to enjoy this. Slowly, he pulled out the handgun he always carried under his waist, lifted it into the sky, aimed at the plane.

And pressed the trigger.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

A few thousand feet above Victoria Harbor, Blu startled out of his dream. He sensed something, something bad. He had a premonition. Something was going to happen in Hong Kong, with disastrous results. He was sure of it. Beside him, Jewel unbuckled his seatbelt and laid a wing against his shoulders.

"Bad dream, dear?"

"A nightmare, to be more accurate." He replied. "Something bad is going to happen in Hong Kong Jewel, something really bad."

Jewel giggled. "Don't be such a baby, Blu!' she scolded "Try to be more like a man!"

"This is not the problem, Jewel," he stammered "We're going to die right here, in Hong Kong! I've had a dream…a nightmare!"

"Calm down, Tyler," his wife said soothingly "I had had a dream too."

"What's about it then?"

"Changes, Blu, changes." Jewel whispered "This trip is gonna change our lives."

"Like the Amazon?"

"Sort of. I feel that we're going to find something, Blu. Something about ourselves. But there is going to be some sort of a test, in which requires wisdom and… bravery."

Blu gulped. Wherever there was bravery, it was not for him. It was for his wife and Tiago.

"But of the ashes, there comes a better future…and a better life I suppose." Jewel finished.

Blu held Jewel tight against himself. He wasn't going to be afraid for the sake of her. He looked at the kids. They were still as active as ever, bouncing on the seats and fiddling with the TV. He looked down at her and smiled.

"I love you, Jewel."

But Jewel was already fast asleep.

Cold air blasted Blu in the face as he stepped out of Terminal 1. He had checked the weather forecast just a few minutes ago and he hadn't expected anything like this. Hong Kong was near the equator and should be more like Rio. Except for that, where were all the buildings? As far as Blu could see, the only things surrounding the airport were mist and barrens.

"This part of Hong Kong is only recently reclaimed."

Blu looked behind him. Tulio was coming over with a guide book in hand.

"We've got to get to Kowloon to see all those buildings."

Just then, Linda finished fetching all of the luggage and ushered them all onto a waiting taxi. Unlike those of the U.S., the taxis of Hong Kong were mostly red, with a few being blue or green.

As the car drove forward, Blu looked expectantly out of the windows. At first, like he had just seen, there were only a few hills and of course, lots of mist. But after around 5 minutes, when they passed a huge bride that seemed to be built only recently that Blu found out was called "Tsing Ma", the scenes began to change. They must be entering Kowloon now.

Left to him, there was a huge cargo port that seemed to stretch on as far as the eye could see. A few minutes later, the residences began to show up, springing out of the ground into the air. Blu had to admit the likeness between Hong Kong and Rio. The buildings weren't exactly western-it was influenced by their own cultures, and in Hong Kong's case, it was Chinese culture. All around him, although Hong Kong was a modern metropolis, there were signs of Chinese culture everywhere. Although the English signs inside the city were more than the whole of Brazil combined, for each English poster there were 1000 more that were in Chinese. As Blu gradually entered the city, he could see flags in Chinese along almost every road, like those of an invading army.

As they reached their destination, Tsim Sha Tsui, night was already beginning to fall. On his right was Hong Kong Island, the most prosperous part of the city. And the part where he was, was Kowloon, the more shabbier, but more industrial part of the city. But in both parts, the city was glowing brightly, as if it was welcoming them in its own way.

As Blu stepped out of his taxi, he found that the temperature had grown considerably and was now almost the same as Rio. He looked at Jewel, still sleeping in the taxi. H felt like a nerd, being scared at a dream. It was going to be all right. A normal vacation. No test or fight or whatsoever.

God, how wrong Blu was.


End file.
